We have identified points [of weakness] that can create shock for America

OE Watch Commentary: While U.S. and Iranian diplomats continue their efforts to hammer out a nuclear deal, the most powerful Iranian body not at the negotiating table remains the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). A body that serves not only to defend the territory of Iran but also its ideology, the IRGC in recent decades has grown functionally independent from Iranian government control. Whether Iranian negotiators are sincere or not, they do not hold sway over the IRGC and cannot control its activity.
The 1 February anniversary of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s return to Iran and the victory of the Islamic Revolution are normally the time for hardline polemical statements, and remarks by Brigadier General Salami, the IRGC’s deputy commander, suggest that the IRGC continues to see the United States as its number one enemy. Traditionally, the IRGC drilled confronting the U.S. military using asymmetrical means, either by hit-and-run terrorism via a proxy like Hezbollah on land or by swarming attacks by small boats at sea. However, Salami appears prepared to take Iranian threats to a new level with the suggestion that Iran might use its increasing missile capability against U.S. targets.
Growing Iranian strength—and the IRGC’s apparent perception of American weakness—also leads the IRGC deputy commander to offer advice to Iran’s nuclear team, urging them to stick firmly to their position in the firm belief that the Islamic Republic—and not the United States—holds the cards that matter. End OE Watch Commentary (Rubin)

Revolutionary Guards: America is Weak
According to Sepah News, Brigadier-General Hossein Salami, deputy commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), speaking on the live “One Look” television program, reviewed Islamic Iran’s defensive capability on the 35th anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution…

General Salimi said, “The expansion of our military strength and structure has expanded in a form that it is not only able to protect Iran’s vital interests, but it will also endanger the enemy’s vital interest in the region at every level.” He added, “America’s military option makes no difference to us. They can use their military option but they must take responsibility for its destructive aftermath…We have diagnosed America’s military strategy, have reviewed it and also shaped our capabilities. We have identified points that can create shock for America….”
General Salami added, “Our naval power is completely ready on the basis of a destiny-shaping naval battle. Our cruise and ballistic missiles have reached a higher level of precision. Our ballistic missiles can travel at several times the speed of sound, and have entered the earth’s atmosphere to destroy moving targets.”
“The nuclear men [negotiations team] must know that they are sitting alongside powers that possess large weaknesses. We have no concerns and urge our officials to be self-confident, strong and pursue national interests.”